No Easy Escape
by Marginal Benefits
Summary: Albus, owner of Fawkes, has a tendency to make the most idiotic hiring decisions Severus has ever witnessed in his life. But offering a job to the kid who tried to STEAL from their clothing store has got to be #1 on the list of stupidest things he's done. God help Severus... Manager!Severus/Employee!Harry Snarry M/M Non-Magical AU
1. He's a Thief

**A/N:** It seems like it's been a really long time since I've written anything, and I kind of missed it. I've had this story stuck in my head for nearly a year now, so I'm happy that I've finally gotten part of it written out now. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

"What is this about, Filch," Severus snapped, already annoyed. Severus had inventory to check, paychecks to write, and accounts to balance. He didn't have time for another one of Filch's "important meetings" about whatever nonsense this was about.

Albus merely raised an eyebrow at his tone, a slight upturn in his mouth. Whatever. Albus Dumbledore may be the owner of Fawkes in name, but Severus was more of an owner of the clothing store than the older man. As far as Severus was concerned, Albus was only there to make sure all the customers felt at ease, something they often needed after catching a glimpse of Severus's permanent scowl. For whatever reasons, their customers seemed to enjoy the company of the old, near-senile man, his odd robes, and his crazy socks. Severus tried not to analyze it too deeply. It brought in customers, and that's all he really cared about at the end of the day.

"What have you called us here for, dear Filch," Albus asked much more politely. Severus snorted.

"Watch this," was Filch only answer as he clicked play with his mouse.

All of a sudden, the previously blurred television screen cleared up to show a brown haired teen wearing a red and black plaid shirt flipping through some shirts on a hanger.

"Wow," Severus said stoically. "We actually have customers. What a surprise."

Really? Why did Filch insist on wasting his time like this? Hopefully, this would be the final piece of evidence Albus needed to fire their current (and _absolutely useless_) Head of Security. He was, to be frank, a waste of time and resources. The small, dim room they were currently standing in was officially Fawkes' security headquarters but only really housed two big monitors, a desktop computer, and a black chair. If they just knocked down the wall separating the room from the store, they could fill it with more shirts and pants and make a profit instead of use it to house Filch – something Severus was convinced was actually _losing_ them money.

Severus, on the other hand, actually had things to do. He, unlike others in the room, had enough of a conscious that he'd feel guilty taking money from the company for just twiddling his thumbs and calling people in for meaningless meetings.

"Patience," Albus reminded him quietly. "Let's see if there's anything else."

And, as if by magic, the video did start becoming interesting as they watched the boy pick up two of their Red Lion shirts – a top seller among the rebellious, suburban teenage boys who drove their parents' spare Lexus and were still growing out their outdated (and now shameful) Justin Bieber haircuts. That he was picking up two identical shirts wasn't precisely out of the ordinary. The kid was fairly thin and probably wore a small, but maybe he wasn't sure about how the fit would look. What _was_ out of the ordinary was the quick movement in which he pulled the bigger sized shirt off the hanger and pulled it over the smaller sized shirt before heading off to the dressing room.

"My, isn't that peculiar," Albus stated calmly. Which was absurd. This was no time to be calm since it was more than obvious what was about to happen.

Unsurprisingly, five minutes passed and the kid came back with only one shirt on the hanger, the larger one. If their cameras weren't crap and could actually zoom in, they'd probably be able to catch a sliver of the smaller red shirt beneath his plaid top, but it was more than obvious that the shoplifter was now wearing the smaller shirt.

"When did this happen?" he snarled at Filch.

"This morning. About two hours after we opened," Filch answered, squinting to read the timestamp on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

Severus nodded and pulled out his phone.

"What ever are you doing?" Albus asked, resting an old but strong hand on his wrist.

"I'm calling the police."

"I think that's a bit much," Albus said just as the kid returned one of the shirts to the rack and then walked out of the store without a single glance at the cash register. "He's just a boy."

"A boy who walked away with a forty dollar shirt, Albus," he explained. "And the last time I looked, we weren't in the business of handing out clothes for free."

"Except for during our winter buy one get one sale," Filch mumbled, receiving a scathing glare from Severus.

"But surely we don't need to alert the authorities over one incident. It could have been an accident."

Did Severus say "near-senile" earlier? What he meant to say was that Albus was an escapee from the local crazy house.

"I realize that I'm the only one in the room with an MBA, but I don't think it's hard for the average person to understand that a business _loses _money when it gives it's products away for free. We need to catch him now before he tries to do it again. For all you know, he could come by and pull the same tricks again tomorrow or even try it at other stores in the mall. And it all could have been avoided had we taken action _right now_," he reasoned sensibly. This shouldn't have even been a debate. It was clear what they needed to do. "Filch, can you find a clear image of his face and print it out?"

Filch shook his balding head. "I'm not…I don't know if…How do I print from the sc-"

"Useless," Severus exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Remind me again what exactly we're paying you to do, Filch."

As Filch opened his mouth to defend himself, Severus merely rolled his eyes. He'd seen the elderly man's resume before Albus had decided to hire him. To be brief, Filch had no skills to speak of aside from his menacing aura that Albus had been convinced would scare away any wrongdoers and keep everyone in line. Severus had tried arguing that he could do a patrol of the floor himself whenever he had breaks between his other duties, but Albus was convinced they needed to hire someone else for the job. And see where that he gotten them? Thousands of dollars wasted on a man with gray, lanky hair who was probably twice as old as and most certainly more useless than the computer he was supposed to be manning.

"Severus," Albus warned. "Why don't you go back to your office and finish up whatever you were working on? You can even snag a lemon drop from my candy dish if you'd like."

Severus knew a dismissal when he heard one. Whatever. He had a cup of cooling coffee to get back to anyways.

"And you'll handle this, Albus?" he asked, the one thing he wanted to know before he left.

The older man nodded. "Of course, dear boy."

Severus frowned, not at all convinced. But what could he do? Albus was the owner, and he was just a mere manager. So he went back to his office, tucked away in another corner of their shop, and went back to work.

* * *

Exactly a week had passed since the meeting, and Severus was now positive that absolutely nothing had been resolved after he had left. Why? Because the shoplifter was right there in the store yet again, standing not two yards away from him.

Today he was dressed in a yellow and black plaid shirt and was eyeing a black t-shirt that had an artistic sketch of a sword on it. It was a new item that they'd put on the racks just last Friday, but Severus was pretty positive that the price tag read $39.99. He could at least give the young criminal points for being ambitious. There were plenty of smaller items – ear buds, socks, hemp necklaces, etc. – that he could have targeted that maybe didn't have a big retail value but would have been much easier to sneak out with.

Instead, he flicked through the hangers until he found a small and extra large shirt and plucked them off the rack with ease and practice. But this time was different because there would be no easy escape this time.

"Do try to be original," he spat, coming up behind the boy. "Nobody's going to pay to see the same tricks over and over again."

Severus had seen the boy jump at the sound of his voice, but he gave the boy credit for trying to cover it up. Now that the boy had turned around to look at Severus, he got a closer look at him. If pressed to guess, Severus would say the boy was no older than twenty and no younger than seventeen. More specifically, he was too-old-to-be-pulling-this-shit years old. And he had on these odd glasses with circular frames that Severus supposed would fit in with the rest of the hipsters that came by the store. His worn, black Converse and torn jeans certainly fit in with the overall image.

"I…I don't know what you mean, sir," the boy claimed boldly.

Severus rolled his eyes. "I can get the authorities here in two minutes," he stated in response, nodding down towards the walkie talkie attached to his belt. He hated the stupid device. In reality, it only allowed him to communicate with (and by that, he actually meant yell at) the other employees, but the young criminal didn't need to know that.

"Okay, but why would you do that?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

Still playing innocent? This kid was bold _and_ stupid if he thought he could get away with stealing from Severus's shop by acting innocent.

"We have video evidence, you idiot. Now put back the clothes and come with me."

The boy looked down at the clothes in his hands and seemed to contemplate his options. Sure, Severus was more than ten years his senior, but the only exit was behind Severus's back. The boy would have to be quick and clever to get past him.

Fortunately, he seemed to come to that realization himself and calmly replaced the two shirts to their rightful place. He folded his arms, looking as willful as any teenager he'd ever had the displeasure of metting.

"So what's going to happen now?" he asked.

That was the tricky part. When Severus had first seen the video, he wanted the police to track the boy down, haul him from whatever store he'd gone to next, and have him permanently banned from stepping within a foot of Post Moore Mall. But as Severus slept on it, he realized that that wasn't good enough. So he considered the option of jail. But he wanted to be able to watch the boy suffer a bit. Basically, he hadn't really come up with a plan of action, but there were a few things he knew he wanted.

"You can start by telling me your name," Severus began.

The boy raised a suspicious eyebrow, sensing that this would be the easiest portion of his punishment. "Harry Potter," he answered slowly.

Severus snorted. As if Severus would buy that the thief gave up his name that quickly. "Let's see your I.D."

"You don't believe me?"

How daft was he?

"You're a thief."

"Harry" twisted his mouth as if he found the term offensive. Nonetheless, "Harry" reached into his back pocket and pulled out a raggedy, brown wallet. Severus would be shocked by its thinness had he not known how kids these days preferred to carry Mommy and Daddy's MasterCard instead of cold, hard cash. Eventually, "Harry" held out his driver's license for Severus to see.

"See, I was telling the truth," he proclaimed, giving Severus a disapproving look. As if _Severus_ was the wrong one in this situation.

"How wonderful. As a reward, I suppose it's only right that I forgive you for trying to run off with another forty dollars of my money and let you go on your merry way," he said sarcastically.

Harry scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'd really appreciate that, actually. I promise I won't do it again."

Severus snorted.

"You don't believe me?"

Was their conversation going in circles? "You're a thief, Potter," he said for the second time.

"Yes, but I really do promise."

Severus growled. Kids these days always thought they could get away with everything. Well not today. Harry Potter was going to get the punishment he rightfully deserved.

"Why, Severus! How rare for you to be talking to our customers," a cheerful voice said from behind him.

Severus only rolled his eyes. It was true that Severus normally left the customer service side of the business to their employees and his annoying boss, but this was a special occasion, and he explained as much to the newcomer.

"So you see I have someone to introduce you to, Albus. Please meet Harry Potter," he introduced. "I'm sure you recognize him from the security footage. And Harry, this is Albus Dumbledore, owner of Fawkes."

The boy had the grace to look ashamed of himself for once. "I'm so sorry, sir," he apologized. "I know what I did was wrong, and I promise never to bother your store again. It's just…It's been hard these past days."

Albus gave him a warm smile. "Why, whatever do you think you've done, my boy?"

That's it. Severus was doing research on the best assisted living facilities in town because he no longer felt comfortable leaving Albus on his own anymore. He clearly needed to be heavily medicated and supervised at all times.

"He's the thief, Albus," he explained for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Now, now, Severus. Don't be rude to our customers," the older man chided gently.

"_Customers _are people who _buy_ things, Albus. Which is precisely my point. Harry leaves _our_ store with _our _merchandise, but he doesn't _buy _anything. In fact, I think we both know that he's probably going out to the streets and selling them to make money to line his own wallet. Now, I was thinking of bringing him to the back to take pictures of him, which we can have Neville post around the mall. Then I was going to try to find a lawyer so that we can press charges immediately. This is just a preliminary plan, so I am open to suggestions."

"But what evidence do you have to charge the boy with?"

Severus just gave him a look. "The footage Filch saved on our server."

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Filch never could quite figure out how to save the footage. There were some buttons to press or software that we were missing." He waved his hand dismissively. "I admit I'm still not up to speed with all of this new technology. But from what I understand, the footage is set to delete itself from the server every three days or so, which he says is actually quite convenient because then our server would be cluttered with hours of tape," Albus explained as if nothing was wrong.

And, really, why was Severus even surprised? It was foolish of him to hold Filch and Albus to any sort of standard. They would only disappoint him time and time again.

"So what do you suggest? We just let the boy go?"

Harry was looking hopeful again, and Severus was ever so tempted to wrap his hands around the boy's throats and squeeze ever so tightly…

"You said you'd fallen on hard times, my boy?" Albus asked, ignoring Severus in favor of addressing the Golden Boy who could apparently got away with any and everything he pleased.

"Yeah…," Harry mumbled, failing to elaborate.

"Well, lucky for you, we've got a position open."

"We have WHAT?!" Severus shouted, only to be ignored yet again.

"Do you think you'd be interested in retail? I can't promise more than minimum wage, but we do give bonuses to those exceptional employees," he said with a wink.

To be fair, Harry looked just as surprised by the outcome of things as Severus. But he snapped out of his stupor quick enough to grab onto Albus's offer before it left the table.

"Of course! I'd love to! Thank you, sir! I- I don't know what to say. Thank you so much! I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity."

"Wonderful," Albus said, all smiles. "Why don't you come in tomorrow at 8 so that we can get you trained and fill out all that nasty paperwork? You can start working as soon as you're finished if that suits you."

"Sure, I'm ready to start whenever you want."

Albus patted Harry on the back, both of them grinning like they were high as kites. Severus wanted to be sick.

"He. Is. A. Thief," Severus reminded them one last time with a scowl.

None of them seemed to be listening.

* * *

**A/N:** *hugs* Thank you so much for reading this first chapter! I really appreciate it! :) If you guys have a spare minute, I would love to hear what you thought about it. I'm still not sure if it's worth it to continue…


	2. Swiper, No Swiping!

When Severus barged into Albus's office for the eighth time in the two months that had passed since Harry popped up, Albus was smiling as per usual. The grin irked Severus but not nearly as much as having to come to work to see The Shoplifter's ugly mug every damn morning. Which is why he kept dropping by Albus's office once a week with the small hope that he would finally get it through Fawkes's owner thick head that he'd made a grave mistake.

"What appears to be the problem, Severus?" Albus asked as he always did.

"You know the problem, Albus," Severus answered.

Albus leaned back in his leather chair and spent a minute looking at him. "Has Harry done anything wrong since we've brought him on?"

A part of Severus wanted to yell that _they_ hadn't brought Harry on. That was all Albus's doing, and Severus didn't want any blame cast his way when everything came falling apart (which it inevitably would). And another part wanted to explain that Harry had committed a grievous crime just by breathing in Severus's very presence. However, he knew that neither argument will win him any points in this endless debate.

"It's only a matter of time," he said instead.

"How is Harry getting along with the rest of the employees?"

Severus barely held in his groan because he knew that Albus already knew the answer. "Everybody kisses the ground he walks on," he grumbled.

It was utterly sickening to watch the employees flock to Harry like he was their savior or something. The main offenders were Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley. Not that he'd liked any of them before Harry came along…but their allegiance to The Shoplifter rid Severus of any positive feelings he may have had towards them.

Neville had somehow broken out of his shell and was now Chatty Kathy with his new best friend. Then there was Ron. The redhead was practically attached to Harry's hip, and they seemed to have developed something of an odd brotherly bond that Severus didn't quite understand or care to analyze any further. The rest of their employees were female high school and college students who smiled wider and became extremely touchy as soon as Harry clocked in. Absolutely nauseating.

"And how have sales been since Harry joined the team?"

Being the manager, this was precisely a statistic that he'd been keeping an eye on as soon as Harry's paperwork had been submitted. The results were less than satisfactory.

"They haven't decreased," he admitted grudgingly.

Albus only chuckled. "From the number of customer's I've seen in our store the last few months, our sales have actually _increased_."

Yes, Severus already knew this. Sales had gone up by twelve percent. But there could be any number of reasons to explain this sudden burst in profits that had nothing to do with Harry. A whole sea of reasons.

"There is no proof that that's Potter's doing," he pointed out. Albus just smiled at him. "Fine, Albus. Don't fire him. You'll regret it, and don't expect me to hold me tongue when you do."

As Severus turned to leave, he was stopped by a soft cough.

"As you know, we reward people for their hard work at Fawkes. And I think Harry's raise is well past due, don't you?"

Damn Albus, and damn his twinkling eyes.

* * *

"Can I help you, sir?" Harry asked, peeking into Severus's door.

"Come in and shut the door," Severus snapped, noting the haste in which Harry followed his commands. Good. He wasn't in the mood for any dawdling.

"Ron said you wanted to speak to me."

While the boy's outward appearance didn't reflect any apprehension, his tight fist gave away his emotions. Severus wanted to laugh, guessing exactly what was putting Harry on edge.

"Take a seat, Potter. You're not getting fired…not today, at least."

As predicted, Harry's hands unclenched and shoulders dropped to a more comfortable position. He walked over to the only unoccupied chair in the office and plopped down gracelessly. "So what did you need me for, sir?"

Severus pushed a stack of papers across the desk until it was in front of Harry. "Sign these."

Harry looked at the pencil holder on the desk but didn't move to grab a pen. "What do they say?"

"It says that your wage will be increased by fifty cents an hour."

Harry looked like someone had knocked on his door and told him he'd won the lottery. Kids. So dramatic. "Wow! I mean, thanks!"

"Don't thank me. If it was up to me, you would be rotting in a jail cell by now."

The Shoplifter chewed on his lip as if he was mulling something over. Severus couldn't imagine what was hard to understand. Severus hadn't done anything that would lead the thief to think that he had been forgiven or his actions forgotten. He might not have explicitly articulated his distaste, but he'd thought the hourly glares had gotten the message across. Perhaps he needed to try harder.

"What, in your opinion, do I need to do to be a worthy employee here then, sir?"

Severus blinked. Thad hadn't been the response he had expected. "Quit now, and maybe then you'll earn my respect."

Harry scowled but tried to cover it up quickly. "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir," he said tersely. "I'm a little short on cash and need it so th-"

"Let me stop you right there, Potter," he interrupted. Harry was gearing up for a long pity session that Severus had no intentions of participating in. "You're mistaken if you thought I brought you in here for some heart-to-heart conversation. I'm not your therapist, and I'm not your friend. So quit trying to slack off and hurry up so that you can sign these papers and get back to work." He gestured towards his pencil holder.

Gritting his teeth, Harry snatched one of his pens and flipped through the packet. "I don't know why you hate me so much," he mumbled as he filled the last page with what could only be called scribbles.

Maybe the boy really was that dense. Fine, Severus would just have to spell it out for him. "Albus may have forgotten, but I promise you that I'll never forget that you stole from us."

Harry sighed. "I apologized _and_ gave you the forty dollars back. I'm really trying here, Mr. Snape."

Severus wasn't impressed. "And yet here you are stealing from the company yet again by wasting time you should be _working_ sitting here and trying to win a fight you and I both know you don't have a chance of winning."

Harry stood up abruptly, causing the chair to screech across the tile floor. "I know you don't know me that well, sir, but I'm not one to give up easily."

"I want you to know that I've deducted thirty minute's pay from your check this week."

And that seemed to have shut Harry down. At least for the time being.

BREAK

"How many times must I tell you that we sort jeans by color _then_ size?"

"This will be the last time," Harry grumbled.

"See that it is! You've been here three months now, Potter. It's about time you acted like it."

Harry groaned but went about shuffling the jeans around like he was told.

* * *

When Severus returned to his tiny office, he noted a pamphlet placed carefully across his stack of expense reports. Fuming, he snatched up the paper to hunt for any clues as to who the daring intruder could have been. (These employees were getting out of hand!)

After skimming over Camp Kern's mission about Teambuilding, Cooperation, and Leadership, Severus was left with no doubts as to the identity of the trespasser.

* * *

"This is precisely why we tell them no drinks in the store. You should have stopped them before they came in."

"Just to make sure I'm understanding you correctly, you want me to tell a baby that he needs to throw his bottle in the trash before he comes in?" Harry questioned with a dubious look.

"Take the mop, and get to work, Potter."

* * *

Severus didn't know if it was possible, but Huntsville's Cooperate Teambuilding Programs looked more torturous than Camp Kern. If Albus thought he would trust any one of their unreliable employees to catch him in a Trust Fall from a fifteen foot ladder, he was grossly mistaken.

* * *

"Are you _ever_ happy?"

"Yes."

"When? I've yet to see you smile once since I've gotten here."

"I do not normally share these moments with others, but I have had rare nights when I dream that Albus finally gives me permission to let you go. It's always entertaining to see how my dream self fires. Each time is always so different yet so clever."

Severus would have Filch pull up the video after they closed because he's pretty sure he heard a "Fuck you."

* * *

Willy's Corporate Ranch had apparently decided that one sheet of paper was not enough space to detail their program and had invested their money in a hard cover book. A book. About the importance of listening to others, being understanding of other's feelings, and getting in touch with your true self. At least that's what Severus had gathered from the subtitle before he threw the useless thing in the trash where it belonged.

* * *

"Just because you got another raise doesn't mean you're suddenly allowed to stop working, Potter. In fact, most rational people's response would be to work _harder_."

"With all due respect, sir, I'm on break."

"You've already had your break today."

"No, I didn't."

"You spent ten minutes talking to Ron about some sports game and that was _after _you spent seven minutes talking to Neville about his classes. In case the math is too much for you, that means you went two minutes over your fifteen minute break. You're lucky the mall closes at nine, otherwise you'd be working overtime tonight."

"Are you seriously not going to let me go on break? I haven't even had lunch yet!"

"Go cry to Ron and Neville, Potter. Maybe they can use whatever's left of their break to run out and get you some tissue."

Harry just shook his head. "Whatever."

* * *

Severus thought he'd appreciate the day when the team building pamphlets would stop magically appearing on his desk, but _Dora the Explorer's Book of Manners_ somehow made him miss the old routine.

* * *

"You're late."

"I know. The bus came lat-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses. I'll be reporting this to Albus, of course."

"I'm sorry, okay? It won't happen again."

Severus sniffed. "For your sake, I hope it doesn't."

* * *

Severus frowned at the copy of _Dora the Explorer: Good Manners for Me and You _he found when opened his desk drawer.

* * *

"Who put you in charge of the store's playlist, Potter?"

"Albus said we could bring in our own music at last week's staff meeting."

"You call this music? It's absolute rubbish."

"You may not like it, but I think the customers don't mind it," he said just as a redhead walked by humming along. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Would you like me to do a survey to see what they think?"

Severus didn't care for the cocky tone, but the fact of the matter was that sales had risen three percent since DJ Potter took over. So he glared at the redhead and stalked off to the only place he could find some peace – his office.

* * *

Severus stared at the CD on his desk for all of two minutes. He assumed Albus had burned the playlist for him after he'd asked after the names of some of the…semi tolerable tracks that had played the other day. He had balance sheets to correct, but there was something about this music that seemed to be drawing more customers. So maybe – if Severus had some time this weekend to spare – he would sit down and try to figure out what it was.

* * *

"Even you're not stupid enough to think fighting a customer in the store is acceptable, Potter."

"But he insulted Ron! And he nearly pushed Neville into one of our displays. Just ask him!"

"I don't care what he did, Potter. He was a paying customer, and you had no right to raise your hand to him."

"He started it!"

"What are you, five, Potter? I. Don't. Care. Who. Started. It. We don't tolerate that kind of behavior here at Fawkes. You should have known better."

Severus didn't like these feelings. He didn't want to label them "disappointment" since that would imply he had some set of expectations for Harry, but he was failing to come up with a better term.

At the same time, Severus could tell that there was still some lingering rage bubbling underneath Harry's skin. Yet from the way the boy's face slowly became pinched, he imagined the severity of the situation was starting to sink in.

"You're going to fire me, aren't you?"

The terrible thing was that something in his stomach twisted. That never happened in his dreams. In his dreams, he was the happiest he'd ever been in years and had a barb ready at the tip of his tongue. His dream self knew exactly what to say to tear Harry apart and make him never want to set a foot in the mall for the rest of his pathetic life.

But just like before, he was failing to come up with those words.

"You're suspended for two weeks," he proclaimed weakly, now disappointed in himself.

Harry sucked in a quick breath and Severus half expected him to start choking. "Really?" He was practically buzzing with energy now.

Severus frowned. Harry didn't deserve to get excited. Not when Severus was feeling…however he was feeling. "No pay, of course," he added.

Nonetheless, a small grin grew on the boy's face. "Thank you, Severus! I swear to God, I could hug you."

Wrinkling his nose, Severus put some distance between the two. "Touch me, and I will make sure you regret it, Potter."

Harry laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. But thank you for not firing me. I know you that would have been your dream come true, but you don't know how much this job means to me."

Severus rolled his eyes before shooing him away. He felt uncomfortable having Harry practically bouncing around him like that. Plus, every moment he wasted out here was a moment he was missing out on hearing whatever Albus was saying to placate the battered blond.

"Just go home already. That bruise on your cheek is going to scare away half the girls anyways, so you can take the rest of the day off."

Harry laughed. "You're probably right. Okay. I guess I'll see you later, then. Bye, Severus!"

"It's 'Mr. Snape' to you," he called to the retreating back.

* * *

The fact that there was no pamphlet, no book, and no CD on his desk the next morning was more alarming than he cared to admit.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading this chapter! I'm playing things by ear for now, but I will definitely make sure to do regular updates if I see that people would actually be interested. :)


	3. Story of My Life

Severus had assumed that Harry's suspension would give him a much deserved break and a chance to enjoy coming to work like the old days. But there's a saying they have for people who assume. So now, on the rare occasions when he was not glaring at his phone, he was investigating each and every one of his employees to figure out which one of them was foolish enough to slip Harry Severus's phone number, which was only given out to the privileged few.

_did u listen to the song i showed u_

Severus groaned. There was something off about their balance sheet, but he needed to focus to determine what the issue was. But focus was near impossible to achieve these days what with the incessant vibrating coming from his phone.

_at work_

His phone buzzed not a second later.

_perfect tim listen 2 music then_

Severus groaned again. He did not have time for these distractions, and each day was something even more annoying. Yesterday it had been links to videos of people falling off skateboards, breaking trampolines, and colliding into each other on ski slopes. Severus hadn't laughed. They weren't funny. They were a waste of his time. He shuddered to think of what tomorrow would bring.

_at work_

In a sense, he only had himself to blame. He should have just left Harry's messages unread from the very beginning like he had intended. But it was two days into the Text Hurricane Potter when Filch finally managed to pull up the footage of the fight. Severus had sat in the back room with the older man and watched how Draco, the blond, entered the store with a posh girl on his arm. They spent the first three minutes pretending to browse through the men's clothing section but clearly had no intentions of buying anything. It was easy to tell by the way they would bend over and cover the mouths, a poor attempt to hide their snickers. At some point in time, Ron approached them, presumably to ask if they needed help. Draco said something, which caused Ron to turn red and the girl to start chuckling. The two boys went back and forth for a bit, and Harry walked up to them a moment after Draco pulled out his wallet and waved some money at Ron's face. Draco and Harry exchanged some words, and the next thing you know, Harry's shoving Draco into a clothes rack. The fighting ensued from there. Absolutely ridiculous.

Because of Harry's rash actions, Fawkes almost ended up with a lawsuit on their hands, something the store would not have had the money to fight. The store would have been closed, and everyone would have been looking for a new job. It all could have been avoided if Harry had gone to Albus or Filch. He could have even approached Severus as the store's manager. That would have saved Severus from the two hour meeting with Draco where Severus had to shove his pride down his throat, plead with a _nineteen year old_ to not report the incident to his father's lawyer, and offer him a two hundred dollar gift certificate to keep his mouth shut. But no, the boy had to take things into his own hands and ruin everything.

So in a moment of weakness, he had texted Harry back to give a detailed explanation of how stupid he was and how the situation should have been handled differently. (But mostly he just called Harry stupid.) Instead of being offended or contrite like a normal person, Harry took the five paragraphs as a sign that they were now best buddies. The text messages hadn't stopped since, and Harry had started a habit of calling to "see if he was okay" if Severus failed to reply in a timely fashion.

They were on day ten, and Severus thought he was going to slowly lose his mind. But anyone would after the fifth One Direction video, right?

_its only 3 mins sev come on_

Yeah, that was a new thing Harry had picked up. When Severus demanded he stop, Harry had argued that it was easier to type. When Severus told him he didn't fucking care, he claimed that he had typed the nickname so often that his phone now autocorrected "Severus" to "Sev" and it was too much of a hassle to correct it every time. All Severus could do was hope that the boy would be just as lazy when he came back to work, giving Severus the perfect excuse to fire him.

_not now_

Severus was granted all of three minutes without interruptions before his phone flashed another message from Harry. He sighed. How had this become his life?

_wat r u doin now_

_at work_

_come on sev listen to it u kno u want 2_

_don't you have FRIENDS you should be talking to?_

_I'm hurt :( aren't we amigos?_

Gritting his teeth, Severus wondered (not for the first time) if he had made a mistake by letting Harry off so easily. Harry was just joking, but this only reminded him of the reason why he refused to respond to Harry's texts for the first two days. There needed to be a clear line between them. They weren't friends and never could be – not that Severus wanted anything different. It just made things at work complicated if Harry had delusions that they were anything more than employer and employee, and it was past time that he made that clear.

_no we're manager and employee. you shouldn't even have my number._

Severus didn't get any texts after that, but it's not like he lost any sleep over it.

* * *

It wasn't awkward running into Harry by Albus's door, but it wasn't what he would call a pleasant experience either.

"Ah, I see you're back, Mr. Potter," he drawled. He had known that today was the day Harry's suspension ended, but he still found himself caught off guard. Had it really been fourteen days already?

"Yes, sir," was the curt reply.

"I assume Albus talked to you about our store's policy on violence and told you what would happen if you pulled a stunt like that again."

"Yes, sir," he repeated. "And I would like to apologize for any trouble my actions may have caused you and thank you again for giving me a second chance."

Severus wrinkled his nose, uncomfortable with how stiff Harry's words had been. Even his posture was rigid, his back straight and his arms tight against his sides. In fact, Harry wasn't even looking directly at him but rather at a point just above his shoulder.

"Yes, well see that I don't regret that decision."

"You won't, sir. Now, if you don't mind, Albus asked me to sort the sale jewelry," he said with a tiny bow before he skirted past Severus.

Severus only stared after him for a moment before opening the door to Albus's office.

"It's nice to see you this morning. Did you have the chance to welcome Harry back?" the older man asked from behind his desk.

Severus rolled his eyes and sat in the chair Albus gestured at. "We ran into each other outside and exchanged a few words," he answered, frowning when his boss laughed.

"Is that all, my boy? I thought you two were friends now."

Freezing, Severus tried to think of what all Harry could have told Albus. Severus had never explicitly told the boy to keep their chats private; their conversations were never inappropriate, but he felt uncomfortable at the thought that Albus might know that he his favorite Avenger was Tony Stark or whatever other piece of trivia he could garner from their texts.

"Severus, dear boy, are you quite alright? You look unwell."

He quickly dismissed the look of concern. "I'm fine. I'm just puzzled as to why you thought Harry and I were friends."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Letting Harry off with a suspension was nothing short of an act of kindness from you, Severus. I had assumed that all of my hints had finally gotten through and that you two had finally sorted things out. Was I mistaken?"

"I was merely assessing the situation as a manager. As you've pointed out several times before, Harry has proven to be a valuable asset to our store, and it seemed unwise to terminate him due to one reckless attempt to stand up for his friend's honor. Don't get me wrong. I don't approve of his actions, and I will not hesitate to fire him if he shows any sign of slacking off or mistreating our customers. But my decision to suspend him was nothing more than the result of a simple benefit-cost analysis."

"Is that so?" Albus questioned, his tone hard to read.

"You saw the video, did you not?"

"Yes, I saw it. Harry said that Draco was saying some untoward things about the store and the employees here, and he felt the need to defend them. He claimed that things escalated before he realized it, but he seemed genuinely regretful for taking things too far."

Severus nodded. "I'm glad to hear that."

Albus hummed. "I'm just surprised that you two aren't on better terms since he left."

Severus didn't follow. "Better terms?"

"Didn't Harry call you? I gave him your number before he left."

He must have misheard Albus. "What did you say?"

"The same day he was suspended he called the store before closing and said he felt like he hadn't thanked you enough, so Neville tried to transfer the call to your office. When you didn't pick up, Neville transferred the call to me, and I just thought it would be easier if I gave him your cell phone number so that he could contact you directly. I had hoped that hearing his heartfelt apology would have smoothed things out between the two of you. But if he never called you..."

Severus knew Albus well enough to know that there was more behind that story, but he also knew that Albus wouldn't admit to anything.

"No, he never called," he said truthfully.

"How odd." He waited for a moment as if he expected Severus to say more. When he didn't (and why should he when Albus is out there giving his phone number out like pieces of candy), Albus sighed and moved on. "Nevertheless, I hope you know that he really appreciates what you did."

"Wonderful."

Albus nodded as if he hadn't picked up on the sarcasm. "His foster parents may have abandoned him, and we know he's made bad decisions in the past, but it's encouraging to see that he hasn't let that stop him from following his dreams. He told me this very morning that he only needed two thousand more dollars until he could cover his first semester of classes. He'll make that much in a matter of months working here, but it would have been impossible if you had fired him that day. So I'm proud of you for putting your feelings towards Harry aside and deciding to give Harry a second chance. He truly does deserve it."

Severus didn't know what to say. The last time he'd seen Albus look like that was actually during their first meeting when Albus had sat next to him at some local pub, listened to his drunken wallowing, and offered him a job at the end of the night.

"You two really do have a lot in common," Albus continued. Severus wondered if he too was thinking about that night. "I only wish you'd take the time to get to know each other better."

Albus could be manipulative when he wanted to be.

"I'll try," Severus offered as he stood up to leave.

Albus just smiled.

* * *

"Well, you managed to last one week without any physical altercations. I must admit that I'm amazed," Severus said, walking up to the checkout counter.

"I will do my best to continue to exceed your expectations," Harry replied mechanically. No one was waiting in line, but he was clicking away at something on the cash register.

"My expectations for you are fairly low, so that shouldn't take much work."

"I see."

The corner of Severus's moth twitched. Here he was trying to start a conversation, and of course the boy had to be needlessly difficult about the whole thing.

"Potter, what are you even doing with that machine anyways?"

For the first time, Harry stopped what he was doing and raised his eyes to meet Severus's. "I am working, sir; however, I can stop doing what I am doing if you need help with something.

Severus didn't really know how to proceed seeing as how his attempts at small talk hadn't gone over as planned. It was probably best to just cut straight to the chase. "Albus says I need to be friendlier to you."

"Well, you should have told Albus that employers and employees aren't meant to be _friendly_," he replied tartly, resuming his game of playing Whack-a-Mole with the cash register.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Oh, no. Did I hurt your little feelings, Harry?" he mocked, watching as Harry's fingers stilled once more.

"You know what? Fuck you, Severus. You're the one who said we couldn't be friends, so don't think you can just change the rules whenever you want, and I'll just follow along."

"No one said we had to be _friends_, Potter," he hissed, masking the hidden jolt of pleasure he felt from finally cracking Harry's shell. "But you haven't exactly been subtle about ignoring me, and now Albus is on my case because he things I'm 'bullying' you again."

Harry remained silent, and Severus was getting fed up. Between dodging Albus's disappointed looks and purposely ignoring his questions about whether or not he'd talked to Harry yet, Severus really didn't have the patience to be dealing with Harry and his attitude.

"This really is ridiculous, Potter. Getting this upset over one text message is nothing but childish."

Harry shook his head in anger. "Whatever, Severus."

"Fine! You can keep texting me! Feel better now?"

"No, it doesn't because I actually don't _want_ to text you anymore."

This is exactly what he was talking about. Childish.

"What _do_ you want, Potter?" he snarled before he gave in to his urge to pull his hair out…or throttle Harry. Either one would work.

"If you want me to act like we're on good terms in front of Albus, you're going to have to do something for me in exchange."

He snorted. "Shoplifting and extortion. Boy do you have a bright future ahead of you."


End file.
